When Tigers and Dragons Dance
by Uzumaki Ricky
Summary: Beacon Academy is a home for many future Huntsmen and Huntresses, where students train and live in teams of four. This is the tale of an unlikely team of individuals. A disciplined Spartan, a shy country girl, a tall blacksmith, and their leader, a scar faced swordsman from a warrior clan. What does fate have in store for them? Rated M for future content.
1. Chapter 1

**To all of my readers who've chosen to come back, I apologize for the long wait. To any new readers, welcome. I haven't been able to write for all this time and I've been dealing with anxiety and depression. It's gotten worse with the death of my father last year.**

**I hope you can all forgive me for keeping you all waiting. My Naruto fics will be on hold for now. My muse just isn't up for writing them. I'll need to discuss them with my friends before I can start writing them again. But don't worry, I'm not discontinuing them.**

**They're just going to be on hiatus for now. Anyway, here's a new story from Uzumaki Ricky with a lot of help from Ookami88 and monsterhuntergod-Ratholas Mk1. My first ever RWBY fic. Whether I write any more RWBY fics in the future remains to be seen.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. RWBY was created by Monty Oum (May he Rest In Peace) and is owned by Rooster Teeth. I only own my OC Azura, his weapons, and his clan. This is a fan-made work made purely for fun and to share my fandom with others.**

**When Tigers and Dragons Dance**

**Chapter 1**

An airship headed towards Beacon Academy, on its board many young men and women, all of them hopeful to become Hunters and Huntresess. Among them sat a fair-skinned seventeen years old boy, he was by himself, reading a book to pass the time, content with his own company. At first glance his height was about five feet and four inches, though perhaps he was bit taller than that, while his medium, wavy azure blue hair draped over his forehead. All this time his kind looking, deep blue eyes didn't leave the book in his lap.

The Hunter-hopeful's face was rather attractive, aside from a large scar, shaped like claw marks, covering the left half of it. If one were to look closely, the scar came down his face at a left angle, one claw mark crossing over the boy's left eye from the side of his forehead as another came down over his cheek. A third claw mark came down from above his ear down to the side of his chin.

Some of the other passengers were looking oddly at the young man, though he hasn't made any indication those stares were bothering him. After all the clothes he was wearing consisted a metallic blue robe with two large white tigers stitched into the sides in a pattern, held shut by a belt containing ammunition clips and pouches. Underneath the robe he wore a black sleeveless shirt and long pants with a black sash. Over the robe, he wore pieces of silver and metallic blue armor on his shoulders and metallic blue shin and forearm guards. On his feet were a pair of open toed sandals. In other words, such outfit easily brought in curious gazes.

The last pieces of the young man's equipment were his weapons, which consisted two swords at his waist. One was a katana twenty four inches of blade length, the other a wakizashi with a sixteen inch blade. Both weapons had guards and hilts with an unusual design, almost mechanic like, most likely for Dust release mechanism, so essential in today's weaponry.

The people in the seats before the young man had their scrolls turned to local news at a pretty high volume. Apparently a heinous criminal Roman Torchwick managed to evade capture again, after his last large thievery. One of the passengers seemed to admire this outlaw, though mostly for his skills rather than occupation. The young swordsman scoffed a little, never letting go of his book. People like Torchwick gained only spite from him, their selfishness, disregard of law and lives of other people was something to be admonished.

Taking a deep breath, the young man focused back to his book, trying to calm himself and enjoy the rest of the book's story. His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden broadcast. "Hello, and welcome to Beacon. My name is Glynda Goodwitch."

The young man looked up from his book, there was a hologram of a middle aged woman with light blonde hair tied back in a bun with a curl hanging down the right side of her face. Her eyes were bright green and she wore thin, ovular glasses. She had dangling teal earrings that matched the hanging pendant on her collar. She wore a white long-sleeved, pleated top with a white keyhole neckline and gauntlet cuffs that flare in pleats at the wrist. Her lower garments consisted of black high-waisted pencil skirt with bronze buttons and black-brown stockings. Finishing off her outfit were black boots with bronze heels and a purple cape. The cape had a stylized cut ending in flames and arrows with a row of diamond shaped bronze beads on the back. Above the line of beads was an emblem of a tiara.

"You are among the privileged few who have received the honor of being selected to attend this prestigious academy. Our world is experiencing an incredible time of peace, and as future Huntsmen and Huntresses, it is your duty to uphold it. You have demonstrated the courage needed for such a task, and now it is our turn to provide you with the knowledge and training to protect our world. All information regarding your future studies will be provided individually after you lan. I wish you all good luck." Glynda said, before the hologram disappeared.

Sighing, the young man marked the pages he was just reading for later, and slipped the book back into his bag. Standing up and stretching, he let out a soft groan before picking up his bag and weapons, slinging the latter across his back. "Here we go." The young man said, leaving his seat to go take a look at Beacon through the windows.

As soon as he saw it, his eyes widened in surprise as he marveled at the sight of the academy. Tall towers, a huge lawn, a wide main avenue, all situated just before a massive cliff's edge. It looked more like a castle than a school. And he could hardly believe that he was going to be spending the next four years of his life there.

Despite his normally calm demeanor, the young man couldn't help but feel like a little kid again. He'd always loved to explore when he was a kid and now he had a castle sized campus to explore. Just the thought of it excited him. However, he quickly took a deep breath to calm himself. There would be time to explore Beacon in its entirety later. Right now, he had to focus. If the closing distance between them and the campus was anything to go by, they'd soon be landing. He could look around a little as he figured out where he needed to go.

Once the ship finally touched down, the swordsman began to unload with the other passengers. As he did, he kept an eye out for anyone that tried to touch his belongings, since he didn't know anyone around here and wasn't sure who could be trusted and who couldn't.

After he was off the ship, his gaze fell upon the Beacon Academy again. Taking a deep breath, he smiled and made his way forward, noting the sound of someone vomiting in the distance. It seemed at least one of the other students couldn't handle air travel. Shrugging it off, he continued on his way. There was quite a crowd around him, most of them students, both new and current. And there were so many different varieties of weapons. It might not have been his main interest, the young man always appreciated a well made weapon when he saw one.

The sheer amount of people normally would've been overwhelming for someone not accustomed to crowds. Thankfully, while the young man preferred solitude, he wasn't the type to suddenly be nervous among large numbers of people, unless his personal space was being cramped. For a moment, the azure haired swordsman briefly wondered if he'd make any friends while here at Beacon, however he quickly dismissed such thoughts. He wasn't there to make friends. He was there to become a Huntsman. If he ended up making friends during his time there, then he'd welcome it. If he didn't, it really didn't matter.

Suddenly, there was an explosion nearby. Turning towards the source of the sound, the young man went to check it out. To his surprise, he found two girls at the scene. One was a pale-skinned young woman with pale blue eyes and long white hair pulled back into an off-center bun tail on the right side and pinned with an icicle-shaped tiara, with a crooked scar that ran vertically down her left eye and face. She wore a thigh-length strapless dress with a faint color graduation from white to pale blue at the hem. For some reason, the swordsman felt like he'd seen the young woman somewhere before. Perhaps in a picture or something.

The other girl, clearly the younger of the two, looked much different. She was fair skinned with black, neck-length, choppy hair gradated to dark red at the tips. She wore a black long-sleeved dress with a high collar and red trim on the sleeves, a black waist cincher with red lace up the front and red trim around the skirt. She also had a red hooded cloak topping off her outfit, fastened to her shoulders by cross-shaped pins. The most surprising part about the girl, to him at least, was her silver eyes. The young man only heard rumors about people with silver eyes. Meeting one in person was completely unexpected. The pale-skinned girl was clearly lecturing and criticizing her silver eyed companion. Normally, the young man would have stepped in and said something. But, when he saw a fair-skinned young woman step in, one with long, wavy black hair and amber eyes in a monochromatic outfit topped with a black bow, he figured his intervention was unneeded. It would be best if he stayed out of this. He turned and went on his way.

The young man walked for several minutes, simply exploring the campus around him. After hearing a possible future classmate throwing up and seeing two girls getting into an altercation, this was nice. Just him, his own thoughts, and the beautiful scenery of the Beacon Academy. However, his train thoughts was interrupted when he bumped into something hard, knocking him to the ground. Shaking his head, the young man looked up, to his surprise he saw another young man who stood about six feet and three inches tall with broad shoulders and tanned skin. Looking more closely the newcomer had sharp ocean blue eyes, his hair was dark brown and kept very short. He wore simple, vary plain clothes that you can find everywhere. Strapped to his back was a large, two-handed, double bladed ax. Another noticeable trait about him were multiple, nasty looking scars on his hands.

The taller teen quickly looked down. "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there!" He said apologetically.

The scar faced swordsman glared up at him. "Is that a crack about my height?" He demanded, being a bit sensitive about being a bit short for his age.

The tall peer put his hands up in a placating fashion at that. "Easy, easy. I didn't mean it like that' I just wasn't paying attention." He explained.

The shorter of the two sighed at that, seeing that he had jumped to conclusions. "Neither was I. Sorry."

"You sure you're okay?" The taller young man asked worriedly.

The azure haired teen simply got to his feet and dusted himself off. "I'm fine. I'm not so weak that something like that will hurt me." He told him.

"That's good to hear. I'm Zhan." Zhan said, introducing himself.

"My name is Azura. It was a pleasure to meet you. " Azura replied, turning to leave. To his surprise, Zhan began to walk with him. With an eyebrow raised, Azura turned to look at him. "Can I help you with something?" He asked, trying to not come across as being rude.

"Can't we talk? You seem like a nice guy." Zhan replied.

"What could we talk about?" Azura questioned.

"Why are we here, for example." Zhan simply said.

Azura raised an eyebrow at that. "Do you mean here at Beacon or in the philosophical sense?" He asked, genuinely curious about what his new companion meant.

"At Beacon." Zhan replied.

Azura looked away at that, seeming a bit uncomfortable. "My reasons for being here are... kind of personal." He stated.

"I see." Zhan said.

"Forgive my tone. All you need to know right now is that I want to be a Huntsman to protect innocent people." Azura told him. Zhan simply nodded in understanding at that. Azura then turned to look at the taller student. "What about you? Why do you want to be a Huntsman?" He asked.

"For reasons similar to yours." Zhan replied.

Azura looked down and clenched part of his robe into his fist at that. "I doubt that." He said quietly.

"You have your private reasons, I have mine. In the end we both want to protect the innocent." Zhan said.

Azura was left unsure of what to say after that. While not antisocial, his communication skills weren't be best. He tried to think of something, anything they could talk about. It was then that he remembered the two-handed ax on Zhan's back.

"That's a very nice ax you have there." Azura stated awkwardly.

That drew a surprised look from Zhan. "Hm? Oh, this?" He said, drawing it from his back.

Azura nodded. "Do you mind if I take a better look at it?" He asked, genuinely curious about the weapon in the taller man's hands.

The taller teen simply nodded and handed the ax over to the scar-faced swordsman. As soon as he accepted it, he could feel that it was rather hefty, but well balanced. He could also tell that, excluding a few parts that looked a bit old and in need of replacement, it was also well made. Like his two swords, the axe was designed to use Dust rounds.

Curiously, Azura found a trigger of some kind on the weapon. When he flipped it, something happened that impressed the scarred samurai. The smaller blade of the ax flipped forward, turning the weapon into a two handed sword as Azura whistled in appreciation upon completing his inspection of the weapon. "Impressive." He said, returning the weapon to its ax form before returning it to its owner.

Zhan smiled at the praise, bowing his head in respect as his weapon was returned to him. "Thanks. I made it myself." He stated proudly as Azura bowed back.

"Even more impressive. Although I did notice that some of the parts on it are in need of replacing." Azura replied as Zhan returned the ax to its place on his back.

Zhan simply nodded at that. "Yeah, I've been meaning to replace them. Haven't been able to get a hold of the parts I need yet. Mind if I have a look at yours?" He said, hoping to to inspected the young samurai's blades.

Azura frowned at that. His wakizashi he might be willing to let him see, but not his katana. It was special to him. He never let anyone outside of his family touch it. Thinking about it for a moment, Azura deiced.

"You can see my wakizashi. But not my Shijinmaru." Azura stated, drawing the sixteen inch blade from it's sheath and holding it out with both hands.

Zhan carefully took the blade and began to inspect it. He looked down the edge of the blade carefully before taking it in his hand and giving it a few practice swings. He then smiled as he held the blade out for Azura to take it. Azura took the blade back with a bow and re-sheathed it.

"It's a nice blade. Very well made, well balanced, and the folding on this is exquisite. Did you make it?" Zhan said, curious about the blade's history.

Azura smiled in pride at that. "Actually, yes. I created the blade myself with guidance from a very skilled blacksmith I know. I can't tell you how many tries it took before I got it right. Though I had a lot of help with the Dust mechanisms." He stated.

"You did a fine job." Said the taller young man.

"Thanks. I may not be able to make complicated things on my own, but I can handle forging a blade just fine."

"Glad to see I'm talking to a fellow craftsman. I actually come from a family of blacksmiths myself." Zhan admitted happily.

Azura smiled sheepishly at that. "I wouldn't call myself a craftsman. All I did was make the blade. Even then, I had help and took multiple tries to get it right." Azura freely admitted.

"You're more of a craftsman than most. You should be proud of that." Zhan told him.

"Thanks. I appreciate that." Azura replied with a smile. It was then that the scar faced samurai noticed how Zhan's eyes trailed on his hip. Following the gaze, he realized that he was staring at the katana. Azura's hand immediately went to the sheath of his katana and gripped it protectively. The taller boy seemed surprised by the reaction.

"What about the katana? I know you said no, but would you mind me having a look at it?" He asked curiously.

Azura gripped the sheath a bit tighter at that. "Actually, I'd rather not let you touch it. I don't allow anyone but me and my family to touch this sword." He stated.

"Why not? Isn't it just a weapon?" Zhan asked.

"It's much more than that. It's a memento from someone important to me." Azura replied a bit defensively.

"I understand." Zhan said in a placating manner, seeming backing off on the subject.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to get so defensive" Azura apologetically said.

"It's okay. I understand. "Zhan told him.

Azura sighed at that, his hands moving away from his katana. He was still tense, due to normally not liking to talk about that man. It was two years later and the pain still felt as fresh as the day it happened. It was then that he was interrupted from his thoughts.

"Sorry about that. Didn't mean to bring up a touchy subject." Zhan said, genuinely apologizing.

Azura simply waved it off. "It's okay. You didn't know. Now...let's keep going. We need to find our way around here." Azura stated.

Zhan nodded and the two set off again. The two then continued to wander around the campus, talking along the way. Zhan was practically an open book while Azura, on the other hand, wasn't very forthcoming with information. He was holding himself back, unsure if he could trust this person. But, little by little, he found himself warming up to the other teen.

Eventually, the two managed to find their bearings and located Beacon's main hall. Turning to each other both had the same thought on their minds. Separate or stick together. Which should they choose?

"I guess this is it." Zhan said.

"I guess so. Thanks for the company." Azura replied.

The two then shook hands and went their separate ways to find their seats. Just in time, as a middle aged man with tousled silver hair and thin brown eyes, a light complexion, and sharp facial features made his way to the stage. Azura noted that he wore shaded glass spectacles and a small, purple, cross-shaped pin on the cowl around his neck. His outfit consisted of an unzipped black suit over a dark green, buttoned vest and green shirt with black trouser shoes and long, dark green pants with a cane held in his hand. He began to ready the microphone, with a blonde woman standing beside him, whom Azura recognized from the hologram on the airship as Glynda Goodwitch, if he recalled correctly.

"I'll... keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of other people. But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step." Ozpin said to them all before leaving.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight. Tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." Glynda told them.

Azura could only stare in disbelief. There was something odd about professor Ozpin during that speech. It seemed like he wasn't even there. Almost like it was a projection or a hologram of him.

_Later, Beacon Ballroom_

Azura, now in a set of blue tiger stripe pajamas, laid down his sleeping bag, recalling what his mother told him in the past: the academies tend to pair potential Huntsmen and Huntresses in teams of four and pairs. That meant that, tomorrow, part of the test would probably involve pairing him off with a partner. Pulling out a book to do some light reading before bed, the scar-faced samurai wondered what kind of person he'll end with. Would he get someone reliable? Someone he could trust? These questions burned in his mind.

His thoughts were drawn to Zhan, the taller young man he met earlier today. He seemed very calm and relaxed. That was good, since calm and relaxed people were generally easy to be around. Plus, his background as a blacksmith and craftsman would make him a very valuable connection. Overall, he could be a very valuable ally. Based on his personality, Zhan could make for an ideal partner for him as long as he could hold his own in a fight at least well enough to not get in his way. In all honesty, his fighting abilities were the only thing about Zhan that Azura still wondered.

As the old saying goes 'speak of the devil and he shall appear', the blue haired teen was pulled from his thoughts by a familiar voice. "Hi there."

Azura looked up to see that the very person he'd been thinking about had just called out to him. "Well, hello. Fancy meeting you here."

"Same. Mind if I take the spot next to you?" Zhan replied.

Azura simply shrugged and moved his sleeping bag over to give Zhan some more room. "Be my guest."

Zhan nodded and put down his sleeping bag. As soon as he finished, he sat down on it.

"What are the odds of us meeting up like this?" Azura asked, genuinely curious.

Zhan simply shrugged. Azura shrugged as well. "Well, whatever. At least it's nice to see a familiar face."

"True." Zhan said.

Azura looked away at that. "Honestly, I'm... normally not very good at meeting new people."

"You did fine with me." Zhan pointed out.

Azura nodded. "True. Except for the fact that I couldn't share anything with you."

"You have your reasons, I bet. But why are you so closed off." Zhan said.

"As you've just said, I have my reasons. You may learn what they are if you stick around long enough." Azura replied.

"Okay." Zhan said with a shrug.

"Anyway, let's get some sleep. We have a long day ahead of us." Azura pointed out.

Zhan nodded. The two then finished getting ready for bed. Azura shut off his book light before putting it and his book away. With that, the two got into their sleeping bags and went to bed.

**And there you have it. The first thing I've written in five years. I'm doing this for fun, but I still hope you all enjoy this. Because, despite the trouble I had with this chapter, I had fun writing this. And, now, a word from the people who helped make this possible for me with their support and help.**

**monsterhuntergod-Ratholas Mk1: Hello everyone MHG here. After 3 years its finally come out. Sweat, toil, and a boat load of pm's have finally culminated in it coming out. I am so happy I was able to help and put a lot into this story. Zhan and the 2 other members of Azura's team are my creations, and a few other characters here or there that will show up later. Also, chapter ideas and other stuff. Other than that, have a good day and best of luck out their people.**

**Ookami88: ****Helping in writing this chapter wasn't very hard, all it needed was a bit of cosmetic changes.**

**Thanks, guys. And I'd also like to thank Leaf Ranger and my friend ****Attila Horváth**** from Facebook for their continued help and support. You guys rock. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'll try to get the next one out as soon as possible and make the AN's shorter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Here we are with chapter 2. This one was surprisingly easy to write for me. Not sure why. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy it. Here we go.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own RWBY. RWBY was created by Monty Oum (May he Rest In Peace) and is owned by Rooster Teeth. I only own my OC Azura, his weapons, and his clan. This is a fan-made work made purely for fun and to share my fandom with others.**

**When Tigers and Dragons Dance**

**Chapter 2**

_A younger Azura, no older than ten years of age, found himself running for his life through a forest. On his back, he carried a much smaller boy with silver hair and green eyes filled with tears of terror. Around him, three other children close to his age, each of them with an animal like characteristic, ran with him. Azura felt blood running down the left half of his face, his left eye shut tight from the blood running down from the wounds on his face. He heard the growls and roars of the bloodthirsty beasts chasing them._

_But he didn't dare to look back. He knew that, if he looked back, it would mean certain death. So they kept running. That was when one of the other children, a pale boy with jet black hair, crimson red eyes, and bat wings on his back with one of them hanging limb, spoke. "We can't outrun them forever, Azu!" The boy cried._

_Azura glared at the other boy with one eye shut. "I know! Just shut up and run faster!" He snapped back._

_But, somewhere deep in his panicked mind, Azura knew that there was no way out. There was nothing he could do to save them. Nothing he could do to even save _himself_. All they could do was run, hoping they could get away. But he knew there was no escape. They were going to die here. That much was certain. All they could do was delay the inevitable._

_Eventually, the group of children ended up cornered in front of a massive rock. They turned around, panicking as the beasts closed in. Their glowing red eyes illuminating the tree line as they all stalked their pray. A pack of bipedal, slouched, extremely muscular wolf-like beasts let out low growls from their throats. On their angular heads were bone-like masks with red markings. Bone-like spikes protruded from the arms, backs, and knees of the beasts. Their hands and feet were tipped with long, sharp, white claws. The children all backed up against the boulder, fearing for their lives._

_Then, one of the terrified children spoke up. "Run for it!" The child yelled, sprinting for a gap in the pack's line._

_"No, don't!" Azura screamed as another followed the first child._

_However, the two children didn't get very far. Some of the beasts pounced on and attacked them as they ran, ripping them apart in a bloody frenzy. All Azura could do was watch in abject horror and terror, covering the eyes of the younger and smaller boy he'd been carrying. Hugging him close, as if trying to physically protect him from the scene before them._

_Like some unseen signal had been given, the rest of the pack slowly closed in. Azura pushed the crying silver haired boy behind him while shakily drawing a dagger-sized wakizashi he had at his hip. Tears streaming from his eyes and mixing in with the blood running down the left half of his face, Azura held the dagger sized blade with both of his trembling hands. He had to do something. He had to at least _try_ to protect them._

_The beasts closed in as the three boys trembled in fear. This was it. This was how they were going to die. The beasts pounced as the other two boys screamed in terror and Azura shut his eyes._

Azura suddenly found himself forced awake by someone shaking him by his shoulders. Terrified, he screamed and grabbed his katana, unsheathing it in one swing, stopping just short of decapitating Zhan by pure instinct. Zhan looked at his shorter peer with fear in his eyes as Azura panted heavily.

"I-It's okay. It's just me." Zhan said nervously, afraid of what might happen next.

Azura panted, trying desperately to catch his breath as the scene the two had made gained looks from the other students around them and the realization set in. He had just almost killed an innocent man. Disgusted with himself, Azura withdrew the blade and re-sheathed it. He looked away, unable to look the taller young man in the eyes.

"I... I'm sorry about that. I should've warned you about my nightmares..." He said quietly, almost in a whisper.

Zhan rubbed where the blade had been pressed against his neck. "D-don't worry about it. So what were you dreaming about?" He asked worriedly.

Azura heaved a heavy sigh at that. "Just the past..." He replied somberly.

"Right. We should probably get ready. Big day ahead." Zhan said, seeming to drop the subject for now.

With that, the two young men began getting ready for the day. The two brushed their teeth, rolled up their sleeping bags, and started getting ready. As they did, the two seemed to have unconsciously decided to stick together. It wasn't as though either of them knew anyone at Beacon, so it was better to stick with a friendly face.

The two then sat down together to have breakfast. As they did, Zhan noticed that Azura had taken an extremely large amount of food. "Are you seriously going to eat all of that?" He asked, surprised by the sheer amount of food piled onto the plate.

Azura simply nodded. "I wouldn't have gotten it all if I wasn't." He replied.

"But aren't you worried? I mean, you'll probably put on weight or end up with stomach pains eating that much food." The taller of the two pointed out.

Azura chuckled at that, finding the notion amusing. "Trust me, that won't be an issue. Thanks to my Semblance." The scar faced swordsman replied, digging into his food.

Zhan was surprised to hear this, but didn't press the issue. He simply began eating himself. The two ate in silence for a while before Zhan spoke up again. "So... do you think we'll end up being on the same team?" He asked.

The shorter of the two shrugged as he cradled a large mug filled with a mixture of coffee and hot chocolate. "It's hard to say for certain. Maybe." He said, taking a large sip and letting out a sigh of relief.

"Honestly, I'm hoping I at least get people I can get along with. After all, I'll be spending four years with them." Zhan said.

Azura nodded at that. It was understandable. After all, you didn't want to end up spending four years with people you despised or hated. Or sharing a room with them.

The two went back to eating in silence at that. After breakfast, they headed to the locker room. After agreeing to meet up after retrieving their weapons, the two headed inside. Once he reached his locker Azura was left alone with his thoughts as he retrieved his wakizashi and shut his locker.

As he began to load his wakizashi and katana with Dust, Azura thought about what his recent experiences with Zhan have told him. After spending more time with Zhan, Azura could honestly say that the tall blacksmith at least seemed like a nice guy. Then again, looks could be deceiving. He could simply be putting on an act. After all, there's no way of knowing if you ever really know someone.

Azura shook off those thoughts. His mother had warned him he should be more open minded. Trusting others didn't come easy for him, but he promised her he'd try. With that, Azura shut the locker and got ready to go meet up with Zhan. He caught sight of the red hooded girl from yesterday. Seeing her up close, he noticed that she was pretty cute. And, from what he could tell, she seemed to be in a much better mood than she had been before, which was good in Azura's opinion. It was then that his eyes wandered to the person she was talking to. What Azura saw made his eyes widen as he took in the appearance of the person next to the younger girl.

The red hooded girl was talking to a fair-skinned young woman with lilac eyes and bright golden hair that faded to pale gold at the tips with a cowlick sticking out. She wore her hair loose, letting it flow freely down her back. She wore a tan jacket that bared her midriff with golden brown piping and short, puffy sleeves with black cuffs that featured two golden buttons. Underneath this, she wore a low cut yellow crop top with an emblem of some kind on the left breast in black. She also wore a brown belt covered by a pleated brown piece of material reaching from hip to hip around the back of her waist. Underneath this was a long, white, asymmetrical piece of material reaching to her knees on the right side, as well as a pair of black mini-shorts. She wore a pair of brown, knee-high boots and orange, over-the-knee socks, with the right sock pushed down to just below the knee. A gray bandanna was tied around her left knee. An orange infinity scarf and black fingerless gloves completed her outfit.

But what drew the swordsman attention away from her outfit was her physical appearance. To say that the blonde young woman was attractive was an understatement. She was absolutely _gorgeous_. Her long, golden blonde hair flowed down her back to just over a shapely rear end. She was well endowed, having large breasts that were just the right size for her body type. She also had wide hips, a slim waist, and long legs. Her lilac eyes were bright and had a bit of a spark in them.

Realizing that he was staring, Azura quickly looked away before either girl noticed. What was wrong with him? Even if the blonde was very attractive, he normally tried to avoid staring at anyone for too long. Taking a few deep breaths, the scar faced swordsman tried to calm himself. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about girls. He had an initiation to focus on. Feeling a bit worried, Azura took a moment to inspect his weapons.

Whatever the initiation would be, it would likely involve combat. He had to be absolutely certain he was ready. No matter what it was, he would not fail this test. He couldn't afford to.

Finding his weapons in proper working order, Azura sighed in relief and sheathed both blades. He then began to make his way out of the locker room. As he did, he overheard a conversation going on not too far from him.

"So, Pyrrha, have you given any thought to whose team you'd like to be on? I'm sure everyone must be eager to unite with such a strong, well-known individual such as yourself!" He heard a young woman say.

That caught Azura's attention. Pyrrha? As in Pyrrha Nikos? The top-of-her-class graduate from Sanctum and four time champion of the Mistral Region Tournament?

Turning to look, Azura saw that it was indeed her. She wore her long red hair in a waist-length ponytail, curled slightly into a loose ringlet. She also wore light-green eye shadow around the far upper corners of her vivid green eyes. She was tall and quite muscular.

As a top, she wore a brown overbust corset with a vertical strip of lighter brown in the center. Additionally, she wore an elastic, black, a-line mini skirt and brown opera-length gloves on both arms. She wore a red ankle-length sash that wrapped around her skirt. There was a small circular bronze plate on her right hip opposite two pouches with both connected to a belt. The plate bore a "shield and spear" emblem on it. Underneath her hair, she wore a brown circlet adorned with a pair of small, green, teardrop-shaped emeralds on the chains. She also sported a large bronze gorget around her neck and a bronze bracelet on the upper half of her arm. He also noticed that, unlike most of the girls he'd seen around the campus so far, she was wearing armor. She had on elaborate bronze greaves that started below her mid-thigh before continuing downwards into her boots, as well as a pair of cuisses that began mid-thigh and ended slightly above her knees. She was also equipped with a bronze bracer atop the sleeve of her left arm. Her high-heeled boots were brown with bronze trim, matching her skirt and sleeves and reaching up to mid-calf. He noticed that she seemed to be talking to the white haired girl -another girl he noted was attractive up close- he saw yesterday with the red hooded girl. He figured that she must have been the one who asked Pyrrha the question.

Azura could still hardly believe it. Pyrrha Nikos was going to Beacon. That surprised him, since he'd thought she'd be going to Haven Academy instead. Remembering that his brother was a fan, he decided to file that little tidbit of information away for later.

Pyrrha was every bit the looker she seemed to be on his brother's posters, but he'd heard that she also incredibly strong. Unrivaled in strength and skill. Part of him hoped that this initiation would allow him to test that for himself. A smile worked its way to his face as he thought of how his little brother would react to learning he was going to the same school as Pyrrha Nikos. Knowing him, the little brat would probably freak out and beg his older brother to get him an autograph. The thought made Azura chuckle a little.

It was then that he noticed something that puzzled him. A girl Azura's age, keeping a bit of a distance from the other two, seemed to be glaring at Pyrrha. Azura moved in to get a better look on her, trying to not be seen. When he got in closer, he got a better look at the girl. She seemed to be about five feet and six inches tall. She had tanned skin, blue eyes, and brown hair that was kept short. She had an athletic, yet surprisingly curvy build. She wore khaki pants, a gray t-shirt, and a military-style jacket. What surprised him was her face. Despite the glare she was directing at Pyrrha, it seemed like it was set in stone. This was strange to him.

Shrugging it off, Azura continued on his way. He had to go meet up with Zhan. Besides, it didn't seem like she was going to start anything. So long as she didn't cause any trouble for anyone, his intervention wasn't necessary.

Outside of the locker room, Azura met up with Zhan. "Hey." He said, greeting the taller young man.

Zhan nodded and smiled. "Hey. You ready for this?" The tall blacksmith asked.

Azura simply nodded. "As I'll ever be. By the way, did you know that Pyrrha Nikos is here too?" He said as the two began walking.

Zhan's eyes widened at that. "Pyrrha Nikos? Here? No way!" He said in disbelief.

"I swear I saw her myself. Someone even called her by her name." Azura replied.

"Wow. _The_ Pyrrha Nikos is gonna be going to the same academy as us." Zhan said in awe.

Azura nodded at that. "I know. Honestly, I hope I get to spar with her. I'd really like to see for myself if she's as invincible as people make her out to be." He replied, a smirk on his face.

Zhan seemed surprised by that. "You want to get to fight her? Even knowing her reputation?" He asked, surprised by this.

"Of course I do. Why wouldn't I?" Azura replied.

Zhan shook his head. "Never mind. Still, the fact that a strong, hot woman like Pyrrha is coming here is pretty cool." He said.

"Speaking of beautiful women, I saw this really beautiful blonde girl when I was getting ready in the locker room. I'm telling you, she was _gorgeous_." Azura said.

After a few seconds, Zhan looked at Azura in surprise. "You noticed a hot woman?" He asked in disbelief.

Azura gave the taller young man a deadpan look at that "I'm a seventeen year old boy. Of course I noticed a beautiful woman. I just don't normally give girls much attention because no girl would ever go for a guy like me." He stated.

Zhan chuckled at this for some reason. This made Azura raise an eyebrow. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"Nothing." Zhan replied.

"Is there something funny about what I said?" The scar faced swordsman inquired.

Zhan simply waved it off. "It's nothing."

"It can't be nothing if it made you laugh." Azura insisted.

"It's just... sometimes, you're like a straight man in comedy when it comes to things." Zhan stated.

Azura was surprised by this statement. "How so?" He asked.

"You're so serious. Yet, sometimes, you have flashes where you become so animated." Zhan told him.

"... I don't see it." Azura said.

"Never mind." Zhan replied with a huff.

Azura simply shrugged it off. That was when he noticed Zhan's expression turn to one of shock as he seemed to realize something. "What do you mean by no woman would notice you?" Zhan asked him.

Azura simply shook his head at that. "I didn't say they wouldn't notice me. I said they'd never go for me. There's a difference." Azura corrected him.

Zhan was surprised by this. "Why wouldn't they go for you? You seem like a really nice guy." He asked.

Azura sighed as he pointed to his face. "Well besides the fact that I'm short and have this scar on my face, I doubt they'll find my personality appealing. I've trained to be a warrior, not a charmer," he explained.

Zhan frowned at this. "Hey, don't sell yourself short. I think that scar makes you look awesome. Besides, if you'd learn to open up, I'll bet a nice guy like you would be beating the girls off with a stick." He told the shorter boy.

Azura was surprised at this. "Do you really think so?" He asked.

Zhan nodded at that. "I'm sure. You're good looking and a great guy. Just have a little more confidence in yourself." He replied.

Azura smiled a bit at that. "Thanks. I appreciate that." He said.

"Anytime, dude." Zhan replied.

The two walked in relative silence from that point on, though there was a noticable difference, with Azura walking with his his back a little more straight, and his head held a little higher.

_Later, Beacon Cliff_

The two young men overlooked the cliff before them. It seemed like a long way down. Looking to his left, Azura noticed that Zhan seemed a bit nervous. The two young men turned their attention to Glynda and Ozpin as the group of students gathered.

"For years, you have trained as warriors. And today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest." Ozpin said.

"Now, I'm sure many of you have heard rumors about the assigning of "teams." Well, allow us to put an end to the confusion. Each of you will be given teammates... today." Glynda stated.

This came as no surprise to Azura. He had expected as much. He simply hoped he ended up with tolerable and competent teammates. So long as he got that much, he was content.

"These teammates will be with you for the rest of your time hear at Beacon. So it is in your best interest to be paired with someone with whom you can work well. That being said, the first person you make eye contact with after landing will be your partner for the next four years." Ozpin said, continuing from where Glynda left off.

These news surprised Azura. His partner would be the first person he made eye contact with as soon as he hit the ground? That threw him for a loop. He hadn't expected something like that.

"After you've partnered up, make your way to the northern end of the forest. You will meet opposition along the way. Do not hesitate to destroy everything in your path... or you _will_ die." Ozpin stated.

Azura heard someone laugh nervously and gulp loudly at that. He, however, simply smiled. He'd trained for things like this. He could handle it.

"You will be monitored and graded through the duration of your initiation, but our instructors will not intervene. You will find an abandoned temple at the end of the path containing several relics. Each pair must choose one and return to the top of the cliff. We will regard that item, as well as your standing, and grade you appropriately. Are there any questions?" Ozpin said.

Azura nodded at that. This test seemed simple enough. Anyone with the proper training and conditioning should have no problem surviving it with a little luck. Azura had no doubt in his mind that, so long as he got a competent partner, he could pass this initiation test with little trouble.

"_Good_! Now take your positions!" Ozpin told them all.

Azura cracked his neck at that. He then drew his blades and gripped them firmly. This was it. This was where he started down the path he'd chosen for himself. He had to make sure he didn't mess up.

He looked at Zhan, who seemed a bit nervous. "Are you okay?" Azura asked his taller peer.

"I-I'm fine." Zhan replied nervously.

"Take a deep breath and relax. With any luck, I'll see you in there soon enough." Azura told him.

Zhan simply chuckled nervously and nodded. "R-right. See you in there." He replied.

Azura smirked and nodded back as he was launched through the air. He then heard a scream from Zhan as he was launched as well. Looking back towards his taller peer, Azura was surprised to see him panicking. "What's wrong?!" Azura called out.

"I'm gonna _die_!" Zhan screamed in fear.

Sighing, Azura loaded some gravity Dust into his blades. He then aimed his katana away from himself and fired, propelling himself towards Zhan. Azura collided with Zhan as the tall blacksmith grabbed onto him as soon as he made contact. "Hold on tight!" Azura commanded.

The fearful blacksmith nodded and held on as if his life depended on it. Twisting around in midair, Azura aimed his katana upward and fired another gravity Dust round. This propelled them towards the ground as Zhan screamed in terror. Rolling his eyes, Azura twisted so that he was facing the ground.

As soon as they got in close enough, Azura fired one last gravity Dust round, this time from his wakizashi, to cushion their landing. Azura aimed his blades out at his side as the two hit the ground. Zhan clung to him for a moment before letting go. "W... we're alive? We're alive!" The tall blacksmith cheered as he hugged Azura.

Azura rolled his eyes and smiled. "Yes, we're alive. Now could you _please_ let go?" Azura said."

Zhan released the scar faced swordsman at that. "Right. Sorry. So... does this make us partners?"

Azura shrugged as he stood up and sheathed his blades. "I guess it does." He replied, dusting himself off.

Zhan got up and smiled at that. "Sweet. Well, let's go get that relic and get out of here, partner." He said.

Azura nodded as the two got ready to leave. However, Azura stopped and gripped the hilts of his blades as he heard something. Movement in the tree line. They weren't alone.

Zhan turned back to look at him. "Is... is something wrong?" He asked.

Azura raised a hand for silence. As soon as he did, Zhan wisely quieted down and seemed to listen. As if hearing the movement too, his hand slowly went to the handle of his ax and drew it from his back. As he did, well over a dozen sets of glowing red eyes peeked out from the treeline.

One by one, the creatures the eyes were attached to stalked out of the treeline towards them. Like something out of Azura's nightmare, a large pack of bipedal, slouched, extremely muscular wolf-like beasts growled as they approached. The glaring red eyes of each Beowolf were fixated on the two young men. The two Huntsmen hopefuls readied their weapons as one of the Beowolves roared and charged forward, claws extended as it leaped towards them, as the fight for their lives began.

**And, with that, chapter 2 comes to a close. Again, I'd like to thank my friends MHG, Ookami88, Leaf Ranger, and my friend Attila Horváth from Facebook for their continued help and support. You guys rock. And now a word from MHG and Ookami88.**

**monsterhuntergod-Ratholas Mk1: As always it was fun and a blast to help with the story. Zhan is a character with great potential for character moments, and you'll get to see plenty. As for now, you all have a good day and see you next time.**

**Ookami88: I may not be much of a RWBY fan, but I can already tell that this story will do justice to the series, maybe even improve it in some parts. This chapter was even easier for me to work with, I just hope it's satisfying for the author and the readers.**


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